Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) all-rounder Marcus Stoinis has made an interesting choice when asked which Indian cricketer he would want on his backyard cricket team. While Virat Kohli may seem like the obvious pick for his batting ability, Stoinis had a completely different reason for selecting the legendary batter.

The Australian all-rounder picked Kohli because of his medium-pace bowling, which he believes would be particularly awkward to face in a casual game of backyard cricket. Although Kohli has not been a regular bowling option for India or RCB in recent years, he occasionally rolled his arm over during the earlier stages of his career.

“Maybe Virat because I think his bowling would be really awkward in backyard cricket,” Marcus Stoinis said on the Star Sports YouTube channel when asked to pick an Indian player from the past or present.

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Kohli has taken nine wickets for India in white-ball cricket from 814 deliveries across 439 matches. He also bowled 149 deliveries in Test cricket without managing to claim a wicket. In the IPL, the former India captain has four wickets from 283 matches for RCB, with his best figures being 2/25.

Despite rarely bowling in recent years, Kohli has occasionally provided useful overs for India when required. His most recent international bowling appearance came during the 2023 ODI World Cup, when he delivered three impressive overs against the Netherlands. He conceded only 13 runs and picked up a wicket during that spell.

Kohli’s last T20I bowling appearance came even earlier, during the 2022 Asia Cup against Hong Kong. He bowled one over and conceded just six runs. In Test cricket, his final bowling outing came against New Zealand in Christchurch in 2020, where he sent down one over for four runs.

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Interestingly, Kohli has also not bowled regularly in the IPL for several years. His bowling has largely become a nostalgic part of his all-round skill set rather than a regular option for RCB.

Meanwhile, Stoinis is currently representing Southern Brave in The Hundred 2026. His unusual selection of Kohli highlights the Australian’s appreciation of the Indian star’s underrated bowling ability, even though Kohli is primarily regarded as one of the greatest batters of his generation.